Hugo Chavez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (July 28, 1954 - March 5, 2013) was a military man, politician, President of Venezuela, and an example of the so-called "Latin American military socialism". Chavez was elected four times to the Presidency of the country, having held the post from his first election in 1999 until his death in 2013. He was previously the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its founding in 1997 until 2007, when it became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Following his own political ideology of Bolivarianism and " 21st century socialism ", he put emphasis on the implementation of reforms in the country as part of a social project known as the Bolivarian Revolution, which included the implementation of a new constitution, establishing " democratic participatory councils ", the nationalization of several key industries, the increase of public funding for medical services and education, and the significant reduction of poverty. Born to a working-class family in Sabaneta, Barinas, Chávez became a career military officer, and in the 1980s, dissatisfied with the Venezuelan political system, he founded the Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario-200 (MBR-200) to overthrow him. Chavez led the MBR-200 in a failed coup against the government of Accion Democrática del Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1992, for which he was imprisoned. Having been released from prison after two years, he went on to found the Fifth Republic Movement, and was elected president of Venezuela in the 1998 elections. From the Presidency he introduced a new constitution that increased the rights of marginalized groups and altered the structure of the Venezuelan government. He was re-elected in 2000 and during his second presidential term, a system of Bolivarian Missions, Communal Councils and cooperatives administered by the workers was introduced, as well as a program of agrarian reform, while several key industries were also nationalized. On October 7, 2012, Chávez won his country's presidential election for the fourth time, defeating Henrique Capriles, and was elected to a new six-year term. Chavez described his policy as anti-imperialist, and was a strong critic of neoliberalism and laissez-faire capitalism . More generally, Chávez was a major adversary of US foreign policy. Allying strongly with the Communist governments of Fidel and Raúl Castro in Cuba and the leftist governments of Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, his presidency was seen as part of a so-called "pink tide" covering Latin America. He supported cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean and played a decisive role in the creation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South, and the regional television network TeleSur. On June 30, 2011, Chavez announced that he was recovering from an operation to remove an abscess tumor with cancer cells. He requested a second operation in December 2012 for which he traveled to Cuba. He must have been sworn in on January 10, 2013, but the Venezuelan National Assembly agreed to postpone the inauguration to allow him time to regain strength and return from his trip. On February 18, 2013 he returned to Venezuela and was admitted directly to the military hospital in Caracas. Category:Revolutionary Heroes Category:Honorable Heroes Category:Lawful Good Category:Deceased Heroes Category:Pure Good Category:Officials Category:Tragic Heroes Category:Hispanic Heroes Category:Siblings Category:Cruel ending Category:Heroes with Faith Category:Fighter for Equality Category:Fighters Category:Leader Category:Christians Category:Multiple Saver Category:Anti-Capitalists Category:Anti-Imperialists